Meowth That's Right
by Blacksheep28
Summary: What if Meowth wasn't part of Team Rocket? What if Professor Oak rescued him instead? How does this change Ash's adventure? Crossed with the game Pokemon Yellow
1. Prologue

Lost. Alone. Rejected.

It made up Meowth's world now. He had done everything he could to win over the beautiful meowth he'd fallen for, only to be called a circus freak and firmly rejected. He couldn't change back to what he'd once been either. Telepathy was not an ability meowths were meant to unlock. Doing so left him broadcasting when he spoke, making him understandable to humans, but unable to turn it off. Not knowing what to do, his former life shattered in his attempts to win love, Meowth had run. Perhaps it was for the best the flock of spearows had tried to kill him.

Except he wasn't dead. Why was that? Opening his eyes he looked around.

 _/Where am I?/_

"You're at Professor Oak's." Meowth blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected an answer. He looked up to find a young boy looking at him eagerly with sharp crimson eyes. Meowth arched his back, preparing to defend himself, only to be struck by a sharp pain running through his body. Gasping he collapsed. The boy leaned over him frowning.

"Careful! The spearows did a real number on you."

 _/I know./_ Shaking slightly from the effort of fighting the pain Meowth looked to the human.

 _/What happened?/_

"Professor Oak found you washed up on the bank and took you back to patch you up. He said it'll take a couple weeks until you're better. How come you can talk?" the boy said. Meowth flinched.

 _/Taught myself. Don't tell./_ The boy considered this for a moment before nodding.

"Okay! It can be our secret. I'm Ash, but my friends call me Red, cause of my eyes." Meowth tilted his head studying the red pupils.

 _/Meowth./_ Ash tilted his head.

"Meowth's your name?" Not really. Meowth's name was more like 'smallish meowth who acts odd and smells nice' but humans couldn't really say that so he nodded.

"It's good to meet you Meowth," Ash said. An older gentleman in a lab coat entered then.

"Ah, I see our patient has woken up. How is he?" the old man asked.

"Meowth's still sore, but I think he'll be okay," Ash said. Meowth watched warily as the professor approached him and began to examine him. He flinched a couple times as the professor touched him where it hurt but didn't speak. The professor smiled.

"Looks like he'll be just fine."

"Thanks Professor Oak!" Ash exclaimed. Meowth studied the man who had saved him, and meowed softly, concentrating on not projecting. Professor Oak smiled.

"Thanks for watching him Ash." Ash grinned.

"Can I help with him?"

"Sure, no reason why not. I could always use the help around here. Just be careful, these are battler pokemon." Ash nodded happily.

"I will!"

Days passed. Meowth expected Ash to grow tired of caring for an injured pokemon, especially as he refused to talk in case Professor Oak overheard him. Instead Ash entertained himself devising signals Meowth could use instead of talking, and was always eager to help out. When Meowth could finally move freely he was disappointed he'd have to leave soon. Ash surprised him by asking why.

 _/Not injured. Wild, no trainer. Professor not keep wild pokemon./_ Ash shook his head.

"That's not true. I'm sure Professor Oak would be happy to keep you around so he can study a meowth's behaviors, and if not you can come home with me." Surprised Meowth blinked.

 _/You want me?/_

"Of course! You're really smart, and I could use your help in becoming a pokemon master." Meowth smirked in amusement at Ash's naivete.

 _/You want to master pokemon?/_

"I want to be the best with them." Meowth considered.

 _/Meowth will help. You'll have to listen, not easy./_ Ash beamed.

"I will!"


	2. Heading Out

The kid definitely had enthusiasm, and he didn't give up easily. Meowth still didn't have an easy time helping Ash with his pokemon training. He was insistent on wanting all of them despite Meowth's repeated warnings of Ash needing to focus on the pokemon he caught first, and drilling type disadvantages in was almost impossible. Sure Ash got type advantages easily, but it seemed to vanish as soon as it was on his opponent's side.

Busy as Meowth was he didn't notice Ash gradually growing quieter. He was listening, and while still in great need of Meowth's help it wasn't as difficult to get him to listen. By the time Ash was twelve and ready to get his trainer's license Meowth believed he wouldn't completely lose at his first gym.

Meowth was waiting patiently with the other starters for Ash to show up. It had already been decided that instead of a regular starter Ash would take Meowth. He was better than any starter pokemon anyways Meowth preened himself. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Gary received an eevee, a special starting gift from Professor Oak. He felt a little bad for the unique pokemon, being owned by a spoiled brat.

Meowth watched the other trainers come to pick up their pokemon, each one exclaiming in excitement as they took their new partners. Ash though, wasn't there. Meowth would think he'd been forgotten if he didn't know Ash as well as he did. Professor Oak just looked exasperated as he finally lead Ash in, still wearing pyjamas.

Meowth leaped over to Ash's side and butted against him, mewing his impatience. As soon as they were alone he was giving Ash a piece of his mind for running so late! Ash blushed.

"Sorry Meowth." The professor was relieved to let them go, Ash and Meowth stepping out to where a small crowd of family friends stood to see them off.

 _/Need clothes first,/_ Meowth grumbled. Ash nodded, and they quickly headed home to pick up the essentials. Alone in Ash's room Meowth leaped onto his bed.

 _/Why were you late?/_ Meowth asked.

"I threw my alarm clock in my sleep," Ash explained hurriedly as he changed. Meowth sighed. He should have expected something like that. Ash had some of the worst luck he'd ever seen. Meowth didn't want to imagine what would have happened if he wasn't here. Ash probably would have received some half wild pokemon that hated him! They'd have to work extra hard to combat his luck.

 _/Let's go Red,/_ Meowth said. Nodding Ash grabbed his backpack, and they were off.

Ash's sheer optimism continually astounded Meowth. He just didn't understand how the kid continually lucked out. At least they had a plan to keep Ash from doing anything stupid, like letting his food be stolen by a rattata.

 _/Remember, we want a strong pidgey, best one we can find. Needs to be strong as a pidgeot to carry you,/_ Meowth reminded Ash. Grinning Ash nodded. Originally he'd planned on catching every pokemon he saw, but Meowth had managed to beat that out of him finally, pointing out the difficulty of trying to tame and control over a hundred different pokemon. Just catching the best they could was much more realistic.

Ash and Meowth spent the whole morning going through pidgey flocks, Meowth shaking his head at each one and forcing them to move on. It wasn't until after lunch that Meowth finally found a pidgey he was satisfied with.

 _/See pidgey in lead? Strong wings, keen senses. Alert. Will be very strong when evolved./_ Ash nodded, looking at the pidgey which to him didn't seem much different from the others. It was more alert, but he couldn't see the strength Meowth did. Probably because he wasn't a pokemon. It'd take time for him to learn to evaluate a pokemon's strength like Meowth can.

"Alright Meowth, take it down!" Ash said excitedly. Meowth slunk low to the ground creeping closer until he was nearly on top of the pidgey. The pidgey had frozen, sensing the danger. Meowth pounced. The pidgey pecked desperately at Meowth. Meowth let go and leaped clear. The pidgey responded with a gust sending dirt into the air. Meowth hissed in annoyance.

"Meowth, track it with your ears, and use payback!" Meowth's ears twitched, tracking the pidgey. Lifting his head he released three bright gold beams of energy. Struck the pidgey collapsed. Hurriedly Ash threw his pokeball. The weakened pidgey fought against the capture, but fell still.

"Yes!" Ash cheered. He picked up the pokeball and quickly released his new pidgey. Ash dug out some potions and immediately began to tend to the wounds from Meowth.

* _Captured?_ * the pidgey chirped.

 _/Yes,/_ Meowth purred, / _Red's now. You have name?_ / The pidgey bobbed his head.

 _*Flock fighter with strong winds.*_ Meowth considered what to tell Ash, the trainer watching him expectantly. He could only hear half the conversation and needed Meowth to tell him. Meowth looked up.

 _/His name means warrior with strong winds,/_ Meowth said. Ash considered.

"Strong winds, huh? How about Gale?" Meowth considered, and purred. It was close enough to the pidgey's name. The pidgey chirped and flew to Ash's shoulder.

 _*What now?*_ the newly named Gale asked.

"Why don't we do some training with our new friend?" Ash suggested. Meowth smiled.

 _/Training sounds good./_

The rest of the day was spent training and acclimatizing Gale to taking attack commands from Ash. It took a while, but Gale eventually realized Ash had a good grip on strategy, and he did better when listening to him. Gale was strong for a pidgey, perhaps would even evolve in a couple months, and managed to keep up in the training quite well.

They continued on the next day, Meowth thinking of what else they could catch. The further they got from Pallet Town the stronger the pokemon would be. They'd even passed a flock of spearows. Ash had been surprised when Meowth told him they weren't the strongest pokemon in the area. That title belonged to the nidoran. Poisonous and tough the shy creatures were hard to take down and their evolved forms were notoriously powerful. Trained right a nidoran could be a powerhouse for Ash.

Put that way Ash had to agree, and eagerly began searching for one. Skittish and withdrawn, tracking them down wasn't easy, and again Meowth was being picky about what they chose. The longer it took the more frustrated Ash grew. Meowth was stubborn though, refusing to let Ash's impatience screw this up. They would get the best, and use the best. Seeing a male nidoran with slightly longer barbs than normal Meowth grinned his tail swaying behind him.

 _/That nidoran. Large barbs, will be good striker with poison./_ Ash nodded and looked to Gale.

"Come on, you can get some practice in. Use gust on the nidoran!" Gale joyfully flew up and began creating a breeze. It didn't take long for it to build up and strike the nidoran. Low to the ground though it did little damage to the tough pokemon. Ash frowned. Using Meowth was out of the question with the poisonous barbs. He didn't want Meowth getting too close and winding up poisoned. They'd just have to see if they could wear it down.

The battle stretched out, Gale slowly growing tired from constantly creating gusts of wind and the nidoran exhausted from trying to stand strong against them. Ash threw his pokeball. With one last burst of energy the nidoran struggled to escape, but the pokeball was too strong for it.

"Yes! My next pokemon!" Ash cheered as he scooped it up and returned Gale to his own pokeball to rest. He quickly released the exhausted nidoran. He snorted and looked around, not looking too pleased with being caught.

 _/Hello. You're Red's now,/_ Meowth greeted. The nidoran snorted.

 _*I know. What now?*_

 _/Red will name you. What name?/_ The nidoran tilted his head thoughtfully.

 _*Fighting gatherer.*_ Meowth looked up at Ash.

 _/His name means hunter,/_ Meowth translated. Ash nodded thoughtfully considering.

"I'll call him Tharin then. The name means hunter," Ash said. Tharin looked quite pleased with the given name, stomping his feet happily.

 _*Tharin. I will hunt! I'll follow Red,*_ Tharin vowed. Meowth grinned. Looked like their newest pokemon would be a loyal one.


	3. Pikachu

**Looking for critiques to help improve story and possible betas**

They spent a fair amount of time in the forest training Tharin and Gale before finally arriving in Viridian City. Ash checked them all into a pokemon center, looking tired but pleased with himself. Meowth of course looked immaculate. Habits were hard to kill, and he had never forgotten how to make himself look his best no matter the situation. Meowth strolled casually after Ash up to one of the vidphones. Ash sat down and called Professor Oak to update him on his progress.

The professor looked far worse than he normally did when he answered, and that was saying something considering some of the daily disasters that occurred when caring for such a large diverse group of pokemon and the studies he ran. Meowth snickered to himself at the sight. Ash looked shocked.

"Professor, what happened?" Ash asked.

"Ash?" the professor said, "Nice to hear from you, but I'm rather busy. I just caught a rather...difficult pokemon." The professor flinched as the sound of something breaking sounded in the background. Meowth snickered again. Seemed he'd gotten himself into a bit of a mess. The professor suddenly brightened. Meowth stiffened. Why was he suddenly so happy? That didn't seem to bode well for them.

"Say Ash, why don't you take it with you? The pokemon's quite powerful, so I'm sure it'll pass your standards, and I'm sure with your experience working with pokemon you could teach it to behave." Ash looked thoughtful.

 _/No!/_ Meowth shrieked, / _That pokemon spells trouble! Don't take it!/_ Ash once more ignored Meowth's advice. It wouldn't be the first or the last time. It had taken years for Ash to start actually absorbing what Meowth said after all.

"I'll take it," Ash said cheerfully, "what is it?" Professor Oak looked far too relieved for Meowth's liking. How much trouble had this pokemon been causing?

"It's a pikachu. I'll send it right over." Professor Oak hurried away from the screen. Meowth butted against Ash.

 _/Not too late to change your mind,/_ Meowth mewed. Ash glanced at him, crimson eyes dancing with mischief. Of course. He knew Meowth was against this and was doing it anyways. Grumbling to himself he settled down listening to various crashes from the professor's laboratory before he finally returned, panting. A pokeball with an electric sticker was clutched in his hand.

"Here you go Ash," the professor said cheerfully. The pokeball quickly transferred over and Ash picked up his new pokeball. Meowth struggled to remain calm as his trainer calmly pocketed it.

"Thanks professor," Ash said.

"Your welcome. Take care with that pokemon," Professor Oak said. Ash nodded, and logged off. Still complaining Meowth followed Ash to their room. Ash smiled and picked up Meowth.

"It'll be fine. Don't worry so much." Meowth sighed. He was sure Ash was right. Still, he wanted to keep a close eye on this pikachu. No need to let his closest friend to get hurt. Settled next to Ash for the night Meowth listened to his friend's breathing until he finally fell asleep.

Early the next morning the group headed out. The Viridian Gym was closed so they'd be skipping it and moving right along. Interested in getting to know his latest pokemon Ash released the pikachu just outside of Viridian Forest. The pikachu looked around wildly, looking half scared half mad.

"Hey pikachu, I'm your trainer now," Ash said calmly, "what's your name?" The pikachu sharply focused on him and attacked, gathering electricity together. Immediately Meowth leaped into the way of the blow, absorbing the shock.

"Meowth!" Ash exclaimed. He rushed over and picked up the cat, cuddling him close. The pikachu looked at him in shock.

* _Why take shock for human? Human traps us,*_ the pikachu said. Meowth moaned.

 _/Red my friend, help save my life,/_ Meowth murmured. Ash clung Meowth tighter almost crying.

"You're my friend too," Ash murmured. The pikachu looked shocked.

* _Red understand us?*_ Meowth chuckled.

 _/No, just me. Learned telepathy, but can't turn it off, so humans understand me. I translate for Red,/_ Meowth explained. Ash smiled as he continued to check Meowth over. Thankfully it seemed he was alright.

"Why did you do that?" Ash asked.

 _*Humans steal me from home, lock me in scary dark place can't escape from. Hate it!*_ Meowth tilted his head and quickly translated.

"You mean you don't like your pokeball?" Ash asked. He held out the pokeball towards the pikachu. He tensed and began to charge up again. Ash withdrew it.

"Alright, I won't use your pokeball," Ash said. Meowth and the pikachu both looked at Ash like he was crazy.

 _Human lies,_ the pikachu said. Meowth shook his head.

 _/Red doesn't lie. Red's just crazy,/_ Meowth answered. Ash rolled his eyes.

"I'm not lying, or crazy. If Pikachu doesn't like his pokeball I won't force him. I want him to work with us, not against us." The pikachu turned up his nose.

 _*Don't trust human. But will stay, just to see what happens to crazy human,_ * the pikachu said. Meowth smiled. It was a small step, but it was in the right direction. He eagerly translated. Ash grinned.

"Alright! What's your name?"

 _*Pikachu strikes quickly,_ * the pikachu said. Meowth translated. Ash ran a hand through his head.

"Striker, huh? Well welcome to the team," Ash said. With that they headed out, Meowth watching Striker with some suspicion as they entered the forest.

"What's the most powerful pokemon here?" Ash asked Meowth. Raking his mind Meowth thought about what they could find here. Viridian Forest was mainly crawling with bug pokemon, which were notoriously weak. While they could have powerful attacks once fully evolved they were quite frail defense wise.

 _/Butterfree, but you'll need to catch caterpie first,/_ Meowth replied. Ash frowned.

"Why caterpie? Why not catch a wild metapod so it's closer to evolving into butterfree?" Ash asked impatiently. Meowth sighed.

 _/Butterfrees trained directly from caterpies have more experience and are more powerful than ones caught as metapods,/_ Meowth explained. Ash nodded. Striker laughed.

 _*Human stupid to not know!*_ Meowth hissed.

 _/Humans who catch bugs not always know. Humans not pokemon, don't know what pokemon know./_ Striker looked abashed, curling inwards.

 _*Still think stupid,*_ Striker muttered. Not paying attention to the conversation Ash continued walking through the forest.

"How in the world are we going to find a strong caterpie?" Ash wondered. He could see plenty, but again, they looked like average run of the mill caterpies. Nothing special. Hearing something rustle in the bush Ash tensed. Meowth leaped in front of him ready to fight whatever it was. A human stumbled out.

"Hello!" the boy said, "Are you a trainer?" Ash nodded. The boy beamed.

"Want to battle then? I'm trying to train up my caterpies." Ash grinned. This was exactly what he needed, a battle! Reaching for a pokeball he quickly released Gale.

"Time for a battle Gale!" The pidgey chirped in excitement eyeing the caterpie the trainer released.

 _*Lunch!*_ Gale chirped. The caterpie quivered slightly but managed to stand bravely in place. Meowth watched with interest.

"Caterpie, string shot on the pidgey and tackle!" the boy cried.

"Dodge it and use gust!" Ash countered. Both pokemon acted. Thankfully Gale was quick enough to dodge the string shot, the silky threads drifting through the air. The caterpie was rapidly blown back and hit a tree. Gale dove down to strike again only to have the caterpie flip around and tackle him. Startled Gale backed up. Meowth's tail twitched with interest. That was a powerful caterpie to survive a blow from a bird like that. Gale struck again, this time knocking the caterpie out.

"Caterpie, return! Go caterpie!" the boy said. A slightly smaller caterpie was released this time. Again Gale took a surprising blow from the caterpie before winning. Ash praised Gale before returning him.

"Good battle," Ash said. The boy nodded, looking slightly downcast.

"Looks like I still have training to do before they're ready to evolve," the boy said. Meowth padded over to Ash and batted at his legs. Ash glanced down.

 _/Ask where he found the caterpies. Are strong./_ Ash looked at the boy.

"Where did you find your caterpies? I'd like one of my own." The boy beamed, glad to be of service.

"This way!" Ash followed the boy, fighting through bushes before reaching a tree that was literally crawling with caterpies.

"It took me a while to choose, but there are some decent ones here if you want to train one up for yourself," the boy said. Ash grinned.

"Thanks!" Meowth purred in gratitude. This was exactly what they needed. The boy headed out, leaving Ash, Striker, and Meowth to pour over caterpies. There was far too many of them to have an easy time doing so. At last they settled on a caterpie slightly larger than the others. Hopefully it would evolve soon. Striker easily knocked it out letting them capture it. Ash released the caterpie and kneeled down.

 _*What happened?*_ the caterpie asked shakily.

 _/Red captured you. Will be trained now,/_ Meowth replied. He was amused to find out the caterpie was female, the first one on their team. The caterpie brightened.

 _*Will he help me become a butterfree?*_ the caterpie asked eagerly. Meowth nodded.

 _/What's your name?/_

 _*Don't have one. No caterpie does.*_ Meowth looked puzzled and looked up at Ash, who was patiently waiting to be told what was being said.

 _/She says no name./_ Ash frowned.

"I can name her. Does she know what she'd like to be named?" The caterpie shook her head. "Alright, I'll call you...Flit. For when you become a butterfree." The caterpie squealed in excitement and climbed onto Ash.

 _*Thank you, thank you!*_ Meowth smirked. Seemed this one was an excitable pokemon. Hopefully she'd stay calm in battles. With their newest companion among them they set off, straight towards Pewter City.


	4. First Gym

Finally they left Viridian City behind. Now they would encounter their first real challenge: Pewter City's gym. Ash looked ready to charge right in there after getting his pokemon healed. Meowth quickly leaped into his way.

 _/Wait!/_ Ash looked down at Meowth.

"What is it?"

 _/Do you have a plan for dealing with the gym?/_ Ash thought for a second.

"Well Striker's the strongest next to you, so I figured that I'd use him in battle, with you as my back up." Meowth shuddered. That was exactly what he was afraid of. Ash had no plan. They'd be badly hurt if they went in there now. Striker backed up.

 _*Not facing gym! Not for foolish human!*_ Striker growled. Meowth's tail twitched in annoyance. Striker's attitude just rubbed at him. He wanted to smack that mouse into the ground some days.

 _/You wouldn't anyways. Is a rock gym, electric pokemon useless. Need a pokemon that can hurt rock types./_ Ash reflected on that, looking over his pokemon.

"Flit could do it if she evolved into a butterfree," Ash muttered, "and Tharin might be able to do some damage if I taught him double kick." Meowth nodded enthusiastically.

 _/Train before gym,/_ he purred. Ash nodded and they headed to a training field instead of the gym. Ash released his pokemon.

"We're going to be fighting our first gym battle here," Ash said, "so we need to be prepared. Tharin, you are going to be my lead for this gym. I want you to practice on learning double kick. Flit, if you train hard enough I might use you in the gym as well. Everyone else keep training. This isn't a break for those not fighting in the gym." The pokemon nodded and got to work. Even Striker reluctantly joined in. The more he trained with Ash the greater his respect grew for the young trainer, even if he did act foolish without Meowth acting as his restraint. He was far more powerful than he would be in the wild at this point already after all, and he had been powerful to start with. He couldn't wait to see how far he'd go.

Meowth helped with the training, darting from group to group acting as a sparring partner and helping to correct positions. He didn't care to battle much himself outside of situations where there was no choice, but Meowth had decent battling skills to help him survive and was able to help train the younger pokemon.

Flit worked hard, eager to impress her trainer. Her hard work paid off, allowing her to evolve into a metapod. Sadly, as a metapod her training went much slower. She wasn't able to evolve into a butterfree in time for the gym battle. Meowth comforted her, assuring her that the rest of the team would be there in case Ash and Tharin needed their help in the upcoming battle.

Tharin had proved as tenacious and loyal as Meowth had suspected. Given a task he worked hard at it, rapidly learning to master the double kick. With the rest of the team trained up to the best of their ability they headed to the gym, this time ready to take it on.

"You want to battle Brock?" a young voice asked. The team bristled, focusing on a young gym trainer. The boy stepped forward smirking.

"You'll have a tough time battling him with these pokemon. I'm far ahead of you," the boy bragged. Ash clenched his fists. Meowth hissed, knowing Ash's temper had quickly been woken by the boy's words.

"I'll prove I can beat Brock in a battle against you!" Ash declared. The boy smirked and tossed his ball releasing a sandshrew.

"Alright! Tharin, you're up!" Ash barked. Meowth cried in worry.

 _/You need Tharin for fighting Brock, don't wear him out!_ / Ash smiled down at Meowth.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

"You better hope so, or you're about to lose," the gym trainer said, "Sandshrew, scratch attack!" Tharin barely dodged it, his barbs quivering with the heat of battle. He looked to Ash questioningly awaiting his orders.

"Tackle, then use double kick!" Ash ordered.

"Dodge and scratch again!" the trainer screamed. Tharin fought hard against the sandshrew. It was faster than the nidoran, and was a tough fighter. Tharin was panting heavily when it finally collapsed. Meowth mewed with worry. He'd been afraid this would leave Tharin too tired to face Brock. Ash knelt down next to Tharin.

"You did great buddy," Ash praised. Pulling out a potion he carefully applied it to the nidoran. Rejuvenated Tharin stood up, ready to fight again. Ash grinned at Meowth.

"Told you I knew what I was doing." Meowth grumbled to himself, complaining about smart aleck trainers and the thanklessness their poor pokemon received for trying to help all the way up to where Brock stood. Brock looked at the crabby meowth with some amusement.

"Welcome to Pewter City Gym. I am Brock, the leader here. I believe in a rock hard defense in battles. Are you here to challenge me?" Ash nodded. Brock smiled.

"Let us begin then. Two pokemon each." Brock released a geodude. Ash turned to the recently revitalized nidoran and nodded. Tharin stepped out quivering with excitement.

"Tharin, double kick," Ash said quietly. Tharin nodded and charged out. Brock's first pokemon did well holding Tharin off for a while, but fell more easily than the sandshrew. Brock nodded and withdrew his pokemon. It seemed the geodude had been more of a test of Ash's skill than a real challenge. Brock selected his next pokeball and tossed it out.

An enormous thundering beast of rock formed, the onix roaring it's challenge to Tharin. The nidoran quivered.

 _*It's huge!*_ Tharin exclaimed. Striker's cheeks sparked worriedly. The color had drained from Ash's face leaving him pale.

"What's wrong?" Brock asked, "Do you want to forfeit?" Clenching his teeth Ash shook his head no. Tharin snorted and dug into the ground.

 _*Will not fail. Will hunt the onix!*_ The giant onix snorted softly in amusement.

 _*Will you, little one?*_ it grumbled in amusement. Tharin growled and charged forward. The tackle barely did any damage to the behemoth. The onix chuckled. Ash grasped his hat pulling it down harder as he stared at the field trying to think of a way to get around the enormous onix.

"Tharin, try and get under it and use double kick!" Tharin looked doubtful of the plan, but followed through. The onix roared as Tharin's hard kick struck a sensitive stretch. The onix quickly wrapped around Tharin squeezing him. Tharin squealed in pain and kicked out again instinctively. Forced to let go the onix lunged forward. Tharin was knocked back, almost collapsing under the blow. Steadily the little nidoran stood back up refusing to be knocked out.

"Double kick again! Aim for the head!" Tharin followed orders. He barely managed to reach onix's head, pushed back painfully. It was clear that Tharin was one blow away from being knocked out himself. Meowth paced worriedly. He had thought they were prepared. What if they lost despite all the training they had done?

Tharin pushed himself up again shaking slightly. He charged in, hitting the onix with one final double kick. Onix roared, and with a rumble fell to the ground. Silence filled the battlefield.

Suddenly Brock laughed. "Looks like I underestimated you kid. That is one tough nidoran. Here's your badge." Grinning Ash held it into the air.

"Yes!" Meowth purred loudly. Their work had paid off! They had earned their first badge.


End file.
